Chapter 2: Setting up Shop
Oktomund, 23rd day, 217th known year.
Beyond the Noble’s district, even further north, Salucitan revealed its Royal Palace, where the true rulers of the Demonic Lands lived. Further north was a range of mountains, which housed the headquarters of several well-known mercenary groups. The structures were all outside Salucitan’s walls, but were not much easier to invade.
Outside the impressive walls of Salucitan, there was a forest to its south and large plains to its east and west. The plains were used as farmlands by the demons who decided not to be warriors and many farmhouses could be seen here intermittently. There were several small streams, hillocks, gullies interspersed in these plains, but there were few major landmarks here.
The forest, on the other hand, was more or less uninhabited. Here, there was a cottage, used perhaps by past hunters or loggers. The cottage was two storeyed. It had three bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room almost twice the size of any of the rooms on the first floor. The bedrooms had attached bathrooms and the area presumably the kitchen was also spacious and large.
When one entered the cottage, one would be in the living room. To the right, would be a wall and a massive fireplace placed in the center of the wall for a fire to warm up the large room. To the left, starting from the furthest corner, was a door leading to the kitchen, a wall that spanned two thirds of the length of the room, a door leading to the three large rooms and a staircase leading to the second floor.
The living room itself was spacious enough for several tables and chairs. With her experience, Sylphia could tell at a single glance it could easily hold a dozen tables, with four chairs to a table. The three rooms were all roughly the same size, with enough space for a bed and a wardrobe, but not much else. One of the rooms had a door leading outside, to the back of the kitchen.
The second floor opened into a corridor with doors to six bedrooms, roughly of equivalent size. While these bedrooms didn’t have attached bathrooms, they had a small space which was connected to a drain. The cottage could be used very well as an inn, or as an accommodation for a small force of troops. There was only one problem.
“Nine beds, six closets, three wardrobes, nine tables, forty chairs, cooking utensils, cutlery, several sets of bedsheets, pillows…” Sylphia recounted what they needed. The entire cottage was completely empty. Furthermore, there were spots on the roof which had deteriorated and broken with time. Draego had gone on ahead to repair the roof, something he often helped his father with when he was a child.
“Wow, sounds like a lot of stuff…” Jerory said concernedly. As a merchant, she knew they didn’t have enough to buy all of that. Sylphia nodded in response.
“There’s no way we can buy all of that right away, so we should probably stick to the very basic necessities at the moment.” She replied. Jerory nodded.
“What would those be?” She asked. Sylphia frowned in thought.
“We would need a table, some chairs, cooking utensils and cutlery, at the very least…” She replied. “We’re all already used to sleeping in the open, so we ought to manage without beds.” She added. Jerory gave Sylphia a wry smile.
“What I wouldn’t do for a warm bed…” She muttered. Sylphia responded with an understanding smile. The two walked down the streets to the market and entered several winding alleys before entering a somewhat shabby shop in a desolate side street. The shop had a sign outside, however it was so worn out, no one could make out what it said.
In fact, this shop’s owner had long since sold this shop away, and it was now being used as a storehouse for a certain demonic noble. However, with an amount of tact and cunning, Jerory managed to make a deal with the owner, getting him to sell the items in the warehouse to her. And so, Sylphia and Jerory entered the warehouse, picked out some of the things they’d need, and paid the guard for them.
They carried two boxes, with cutlery and cooking utensils within, and left the table and chairs for some other time. They left the Demon City and entered the forest around two hundred meters south of the city walls. They walked another half a kilometer before they came across the cottage. The cottage itself didn’t have to be bought. However, it wasn’t ready to be used.
Which was why they needed to earn the money from the competition. The two girls walked up to the door and knocked on it. They waited for a few moments before Draego walked around the cottage and approached them from their left. He walked up to them and pushed the door open. Sylphia and Jerory walked into the cottage which was to be their new home.
“We got some cutlery and utensils.” Sylphia said. “How did your day go?” She placed the box she was carrying on the floor and Jerory did the same.
“I got some firewood and checked some of the snares.” He replied. Sylphia gave him a smile.
“Did we catch anything?” She asked. He nodded.
“A few hares.” He replied simply as he knelt to open the boxes. There were spoons, forks, knives and plates in one box and different spoons, ladles and vessels in the other.
“Are these enough?” Draego asked, turning to Sylphia. She gave him a nod.
“I would like a few more, but these ought to do for today.” She replied. Draego got up once again and turned towards Jerory. Jerory, in turn, had taken off her cloak, revealing the two blades at her slender waist. He gave her a blank glance, but she could tell what he wanted to ask. Seeing how eager he was, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Yes, we have work.” She replied. “A merchant is leaving next week morning for the village Helbrun, to the north. They will start by heading to the east, stop at Gerud, and then head onwards. You just have to escort them to Gerud.” Draego listened carefully to her words and then nodded.
This was, most likely, a task for the man he had defeated and killed during the competition. Since the original recipient was dead, it made sense to hire the one who defeated him.
“Pay?” He asked Jerory. Jerory smiled.
“300 Iridis, food expenses paid both for the escort and for the way back.” She replied and stretched. “But before that, we ought to get some help. Escorting a merchant caravan alone is not a wise decision.”
Draego nodded. He knew where they were headed. Jerory handed a short sword to Sylphia and turned back to Draego. Together, the two of them left the cottage and headed back towards the city. They were headed towards the northwestern end of the city, where the slums were tucked away. These slums mostly housed the lower end of demons, and the Orphan Faction.
The Orphan Faction was one of the unofficial demonic factions within the Demon empire. To begin with, it wasn’t really a faction. It was just a group of children who came together and were led by the eldest child. Well, the strongest child, which was often the eldest child. This time, the scenario was a little different since Draego was by far the strongest boy below the age of twenty. However, he did not want to lead the entire faction and deal with the problems that came with such a strength.
He’d much rather just take a handful of the better fighters when he needed them and leave them for themselves otherwise. The current leader himself was more than satisfied with this arrangement and thus, the Orphan Faction became a place for Draego to get some additional manpower.
“So is this the place?” Jerory asked Draego as they walked past a few dilapidated buildings, with young children peeking out of its windows. Draego silently shook his head.
“The den is further ahead.” He replied. “These are the lookouts.”
Jerory nodded. It was her first time to this place. The ones who had been here before were Sylphia and Draego. Draego had won their respect by easily defeating their current leader and all of his seven lieutenants by himself, unarmed. This was an obvious result given that Draego had already awakened to mana.
Children peeked at them and rushed about in the shadows as they walked ahead. They came across several spots which looked like sentries, however, the sentries just opened the gates for them and let them through without putting up a fight or even an obstruction. Jerory looked at the apparent leader of one of the checkpoints.
“We seem to be getting preferential treatment here…” Jerory commented. “They’re barely even delaying us.”
Draego nodded.
“They respect me.” He replied evenly. Jerory glanced around and saw several children looking at her, averting their gaze when they met hers.
“And we bring them profit.” Jerory muttered. Draego nodded. She grabbed the hem of his tunic and tugged slightly. Draego turned to look at her without changing his pace.
“They seem to be scared.” She muttered to him. He nodded.
“They have a lot to be afraid of.” He replied. The children here hadn’t banded together to play make-belief. They were oppressed by adults and made to work hard, just to starve. They came together and formed this part of the slums solely to escape such a life. This place wasn’t just their territory, but also their last fortress. Any strong fighter who didn’t belong to this place was, in their eyes, a threat to the remote peace they had.
Finally, Draego led her down several different paths and down a set of stairs. They were now underground. And, finally, Jerory truly saw children. There were five of them. Three girls and two boys. A brunette, tall and slender, walked up to the duo. She had two curved knives strapped to her waist and was clad in shorts and a brown tunic.
“Stephanie.” Draego called out the girl’s name. The girl gave a short bow, first to Draego, then to Jerory.
“The leader has asked to meet you, Draego.” She said respectfully. One of the girls was apparently irritated as she made a confused expression. She stepped forward, apparently to say something, but a boy next to her firmly held her shoulder and shook his head, stopping her. Jerory watched the entire exchange, and turned back towards Draego and the girl.
“What’s with her?” She asked. Stephanie sent a quick glance behind her, and gave Draego an inquisitive look. Draego nodded.
“She’s new.” Stephanie said. “She doesn’t know everything about us. About Draego. But don’t worry, she’ll learn soon.” Her tone was still polite and contained an amount of reverence. It made Jerory curious as to what exactly Sylphia and Draego had done here the last time they were here.
“Lead the way.” Draego said, after a brief moment. Stephanie nodded and started walking ahead of the two. The girl who had wanted to say something and the boy who had stopped her took their places behind Draego and Jerory. Jerory felt uneasy at first but felt reassured once she saw Draego’s impassive expression.
“What did you do the last time you came here?” Jerory finally asked Draego as they started their walk towards the leader. Stephanie let out a short laugh at this question.
“Everything from humiliating Hugo to suppressing Tralion.” She replied briefly. “If you want the details, I’d suggest we sit down for a lo~ng chat.” She gave Jerory a friendly smile. Jerory gave a wry smile at her words.
“Seems like these two were quite the headache.” Jerory replied. “I apologize on their behalf.”
She said sincerely. Stephanie felt a surge of emotions flow through her chest as she heard Jerory’s words. The words contained some form of refinement and elegance she couldn’t point out and evoked admiration in those who heard them. Stephanie realised this girl probably had talents and traits completely different from Sylphia and Draego’s, which were worthy of respect in their own right.
“Ah, don’t worry about it.” Stephanie replied. “It was quite a sight to watch and made for some rare entertainment down here.”
She gave Jerory a light smile.
“Besides, I didn’t really like either of them too much.” She winked playfully. Jerory let out a short amused laugh.
“Then I guess you wouldn’t mind sharing some of the details with me.” Jerory said with a smile. Stephanie smiled brightly at her words. That’s when Jerory felt a familiar hand on her shoulder.
“Spare me.” Draego said simply with his impassive expression. However, Jerory couldn’t help but break into laughter at his earnest words.
Soon enough, they came across a large opening within the underground tunnels. They had apparently been heading deeper and deeper underground. The cavern they walked into was large, stretching scores of meters tall and several dozens of meters wide. A heap of metal and cloth created a mound in front of them over a dozen meters tall. On top of the mound was a broken throne where a young man around twenty years old had taken his seat.
“Welcome, Draego.” He said with a grin. “What brings you to this trash heap?”
Jerory took a moment to look around the cavern. The room itself should have been dim, but was lit by strange moss which covered the floor, parts of the roof and parts of the walls. They gave out a strange luminescence, making everything within the cavern just barely visible. The walls had several small openings, where she could see shadows of curious faces peeking out of.
“Recruitment.” Draego ended his reply to the man in one word. Jerory looked around to see that their escorts had already moved off to a side, save for Stephanie. Stephanie simply stood slightly to their back, playing with one of her daggers. As she looked around, she saw three more boys and another girl.
The girl was dressed in full black pants and a black shirt. She had a short sword strapped to her waist using a brown belt. Her unruly hair had been cut short, like a boy’s, but her bust and figure made it abundantly clear that she was a girl. As for the boys, they were similarly dressed in black holding short swords, but stood at a distance from the girl, due to either awe or fear.
The smirk of the man on top of the trash heap faltered as he heard Draego’s word. He licked his lips once before speaking once again.
“Draego,” He started with an appeasing smile. “What kind of task would need a mage like you to recruit help? How could any of us aid you in such a task?”
A large number of gasps and whispers emerged from the walls. Evidently, quite a few children heard that Draego was a mage. Jerory, obviously, knew Draego was a mage. He was a Class-4 Novice, to be precise. A simple mage who had only just awakened his mana, and could only use a few simple spells. That said, just the fact that he could use spells made it impossible for a regular soldier to defeat him.
“We’re only recruiting for numbers.” Jerory spoke up now. “The task is simple, the pay, rewarding and the experience, beneficial.” She concluded simply. The man frowned.
“Yes, but-” He started, however Draego interrupted him.
“Those who wish to join, find us.” He made one short statement and turned to leave. Jerory looked at him in mild confusion, but figured he knew how this place worked better than her. Stephanie stepped up at this moment.
“What’s the pay?” She asked Draego.
“20 Iridis per person every week. Food will be provided separately.” He replied briefly.
“Count me in, then.” She said simply. The girls and boys who had met the two with her got up. Draego gave them a glance and nodded. He gave a casual glance around the place and saw no one else ready to join. To be fair, 20 Iridis wasn’t a large amount. The 37 Iridis they had saved and bet on Draego had been saved up by Sylphia in spite of low pay and somewhat decent expenditure on food.
The others would probably join them later, after they withdrew from the Orphan Faction, but for now, they were more interested in the benefits of working with a larger organisation. Draego didn’t blame them for their decision, and even respected them for not being swayed by momentary profits. Stephanie asked Draego and Jerory to wait for a bit while she gathered her meagre belongings, the other four did the same.
He walked out of the cavern, with Jerory and Stephanie following close behind him and the other four kids slightly behind them. The girl who had shown a somewhat rebellious streak earlier, had a reverential look in her eyes. A mage was an entity to be respected, a fifteen year old mage, even more so. Draego had already memorised the way into the tunnels, and could follow it back out.
By the time Draego and Jerory took the group back to their cottage, the sun had long since set. They had completely forgone lunch, however this was a common occurrence for them and neither paid it any heed. They saw Sylphia sitting on the steps to the door, her head in her hands and a short sword near her. She looked up at the group, her hand reaching for her short sword the moment they stepped closer.
“It’s us.” Draego said in an impassive tone. A bright smile emerged on Sylphia’s face before immediately being replaced by an angry countenance.
“You’re late!” She said, shooting to her feet. Jerory stepped forward to explain, but Draego already stepped past her and placed his hand on Sylphia’s head.
“Good to see you too.” His voice was deadpan and impassive. Yet, it seemed to convey relief and joy. Sylphia’s face flushed with a medley of emotions as she simply grumbled illegibly and opened the door to the cottage. Draego gazed after her. Jerory made a wistful smile. Despite having spent more time with Sylphia, she couldn’t handle or read Sylphia as well as Draego could.
She followed the duo inside, with Stephanie and her group following her in their wake.
“There are no beds, but take a room each upstairs.” Sylphia said as she started walking towards the kitchen. Tonight’s dinner consisted of simple hare stew and peeled fruit from the trees around them. The forest had plenty of berry bushes and fruit trees, however testing them for poison was a must, and Sylphia only found so many fruits that day.
That said, Draego’s catch was quite plentiful, and they had enough hare stew to go around. Without seasoning, it tasted quite bland, however it was filling and had been kept warm by Sylphia. The eight ate graciously and filled themselves before talking about the task they had.
“The merchant caravan has five wagons.” Jerory said. “It’s owner planned on hiring several freelancers to escort them, however I managed to convince them that Draego alone could provide decent protection.”
Draego nodded. A mage was inherently different from regular soldiers. Having awakened to mana, their bodies were stronger and faster than normal. Additionally, they could create a mana pool, a mystical collection of magical energy, which they could use to cast spells. Even the simplest spells had immense use in combat, since they granted either control of the elements, or a massive boost in physical aspects.
“Draego is a mage, after all.” Stephanie muttered as she glanced at the tall swordsman. Jerory smiled.
“He has extensive combat experience as the guard of our village too.” She added proudly. “He is unarguably the best combat talent of his generation and probably one of the best fighters not associated with a faction.”
“Why are you bragging about it?” Sylphia asked with a laugh. Jerory blushed in slight embarrassment as her black, bat-like wings twitched ever so slightly and let out a short cough.
“Anyway!” She said. “The merchant is going to leave by the end of this week. Since we have time to spare, I’d like to iron out the details on how long you’ll be staying with us, and what arrangements we’ll have to make.”
Stephanie exchanged a glance with Sylphia before nodding. She had already made her decision when she saw Draego defeat Hugo and Tralion.
“Well, I’m staying.” She said simply. Sylphia let out a small chuckle. Draego simply studied his sword. Jerory sighed. The other four looked at her in surprise.
“Arrangements?” Jerory asked. Stephanie shrugged.
“Just treat me like any regular hired hand. I’ll do any work you ask of me as long as I can get a square meal.” She replied evenly. Jerory raised an eyebrow as her wings contracted a little. The terms stated by Stephanie were actually quite good for them. They weren’t excessive in the least, given her visibly small appetite, and Jerory felt Stephanie could be very useful, as both a guard and an extra hand.
“Welcome to the crew then.” Jerory gave her a smile. Stephanie smiled back without saying anything. The other four decided to follow Stephanie as her followers. A small hierarchy was established, with Draego at the top of the command chain, quite against his will, and Sylphia and Jerory right below him. Stephanie was made a squad leader under Jerory and her followers were their first lowest tier mercenaries.
Thus, the Dragonhand Mercenary Group began their series of adventures.